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Safeguarding your Relationship in the days of Social Media.

Is social media a danger to my relationship? 4 Ways it can, 4 ways to safeguard, 4 question to ask.

Social media can be trouble for relationships, but if you are aware of the pitfalls, take precautions, and are honest with yourself, you can safeguard your relationship.

There are a four major aspects of social media sites which make them minefields for relationships.
1. Most people minimize what they are doing on them. Users view them as "innocent." The justifications are "I only tweet him a little", "It's harmless flirtation” or "It's not like I'm cheating or having an affair."

People don’t acknowledge these not-so-innocent interactions often are affairs; if not sexual, then emotional ones.

You see, one definition of an affair is going outside the relationship to get something you should be getting inside it. This can be positive strokes, love, sex, emotional connection, someone to talk with, adoration, or a whole host of things. You seek these things through seemingly innocent social media connections, and quickly get sucked into something you didn't mean to do but now have.

2. Social media sites make it easy to connect, but it also makes it easy to cheat. Yes, cheating existed before things like Facebook, but they made it easier because when you are online you can be invisible or anonymous. Plato taught the dangers of this; he proposed humans are only good as long as they think they would be caught. If people think they can be invisible and have no repercussions, they will do what they want.

In other words, being online gives you the feeling you won't be caught. It tempts you to push the envelope further online than in person or with your spouse listening.

3. Another pitfall for relationships is that instant communication in social media is, well, instant; it takes time out of the equation.

Have you ever been out of sorts with your partner? Before the web, especially social media sites, it would have taken time to connect with someone, talk, and get serious. Now you shoot someone an message/tweet/text to complain about your pertner, they "support" you, and you start comparing how much of a "jerk" your partner is in relation to this other person. The slide toward infidelity starts.

In addition, the intant-ness of social media makes it easy to go to someone else rather than fix things with your partner. You justify and say, "My partner isn't going to make it better, I'll just go talk to _____." You create another relationship where repairing the original relationship should be.

4. Lastly, social media sites make it simple to find old flames. Face it, if someone once was a flame, there will be chemistry there no matter how good your marriage is now. That emotional intensity was stored with your memories and you'll feel it when you reconnect. You create temptationfor yourself.

1. Using FB Excessively Has Ties To Romantic Partner Conflict

A doctoral student from University of Missouri School of Journalism found that the more someone is using Facebook then the more likely they will get into conflict with his or her partner. In the study, recipients were asked how often they used Facebook and how much conflict arose because of Facebook. Turns out that high levels of Facebook use can predict terrible outcomes like cheating, breaking up, and even divorce.

2. Your Facebook Bragging Is Doing More Harm Than Good

We get it! You're in a relationship and you want others to know that you're not lonely anymore. But updating and bragging constantly about you significant other has been shown to be more about your insecurity than happiness thanks to a recent study.

Another tidbit—a survey found that people are very much annoyed with relationship braggers. When the study's participants were asked to rank fictional profiles they said that relationship oversharers were the people they least liked.

3. It's Having A Stronger Negative Affect On Young Relationships

We have stated before that people who use Facebook a lot are more likely to get into it with their partners, but it's also having a stronger affect with young couples. A researcher from St. Mary's University found through a survey that younger couples are more susceptible to letting Facebook get in between them.

4. It Increases Jealousy

A study has found that Facebook sparks jealousy in a relationship thanks to a number of factors. After giving a survey to 308 college students, researchers found that 19.1 percent get jealous due to being able to see more information of what their partners are doing, 16.2 percent of students flat out said Facebook is a link to jealousy for them, 10.3 percent find it hard to not Facebook stalk their partners, and 7.4 percent said Facebook is ambiguous and therefore created misunderstandings with their partners.

5. Your Selfies Are Making Your Partner Feel Less Supported

It's time to really evaluate what you're sharing! Lead researcher Dr. David Houghton found that relationship partners feel less supported when their partners share more photos of friends and events than family.

6. There Is A Correlation Between Facebook And Divorce

Want a lasting marriage? Stay off of social media sites in general! At least that's the advice of a study that found that use of social media networks, especially Facebook, can be a predictor of divorce. When looking at populations, they found that a 20 percent increase of Facebook users correlated with a 2.18 percent increase in the divorce rate.

A doctoral student from University of Missouri School of Journalism found that the more someone is using Facebook then the more likely they will get into conflict with his or her partner. In the study, recipients were asked how often they used Facebook and how much conflict arose because of Facebook. Turns out that high levels of Facebook use can predict terrible outcomes like cheating, breaking up, and even divorce.